Darkness Falls on Midnight
by OushizaSenshi
Summary: It had started out as a simple trek to hunt and defeat Naraku. After Kikyou's death and the face off with Shishinki, a new being presents itself to Inuyasha. Problem is, only he can sense it, leading the others to think he is losing his mind.


**Darkness Falls on Midnight**

Some things are made to sound simple, while others are made to sound completely confusing and complex. I don't know why this is so, nor do I tend to give it a lot of thought, however, lately I have been doing something entirely out of nature for me. Thinking, which I do say is not one of my strong feats, or an expected outcome. In all seriousness, I do have to say that my life has definitely been a challenge. Not only because of who I am, or what I am. To tell you the truth I can't honestly say I know exactly what I am supposed to be.

I'm half of two, a human and a demon. Why? This is how I was born. Not by choice, even though some seem to think as though I had a choice in that, but I didn't. Does anyone have a choice? Too bad it wasn't that simple. I mean, I know what I am, I've learned to live with it. But can I help it when my soul is crushed because of some stupid thing someone says to bring me down further, it really just makes me wonder; why am I here? For what purpose was I brought into this world?

Obviously my parents gave it some serious thought, otherwise I wouldn't be here now, but what exactly was it? I would ask them, but they are no longer alive. Several times I would stand over my mother's grave and ask her questions I know will never be answered, but I still ask them. Following my rather unbecoming pity fest, I would return to my companions. Really, I couldn't even begin to think on how I managed to attract these companions in the first place, not that I'm complaining or anything, but really, how did I manage to make some friends in this world of hate and betrayal?

I'm constantly reminded that I am a bastard, a worthless half-breed, so why did they follow me? Everyone couldn't be wrong in their assumptions, could they? Perhaps they were just like me, trying to fit in where there was no place for us.

I scoffed. Highly doubtful. I crossed my arms and stared once more at my mother's grave. The flowers I left would be dead by the next morning, or the morning after that, if they were lucky. The script on the stone told it's own story, in truth, my own. My mother died while I was still a pup, so of course my writing had been horrible. It was only thanks to a certain girl that had improved my script enough, so I could retrace it in the stone, at least so it was now readable.

No one had been here, beside myself, at least no one that I knew of. If they had passed by and seen it, their scent trail was already long gone. I shrugged my shoulders and turned away from the grave with a long sigh. Really, I had no idea why I still visited here. It wasn't like my coming was ever recorded, or known, perhaps it was something I just had to do, something to ease my frantic thoughts, or make myself feel somewhat wanted. My mother was the only one who accepted me for who I was, although, she always cried whenever I was around.

Sometimes I wondered if it was the loss of my father that had made her cry. Other times, I wondered if it was because she knew what was to become of me, that I was really unwanted by the world. I shook my head and began my long trek back to the village where my companions were. It was some random village, several miles from this grave, and certainly not one I've been to before.

My thoughts strayed over to my companions. Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kirara and Kagome. Three humans, and two demons. A strange mix, if you ask me. They followed me endlessly, and sometimes I wondered why. It wasn't like I was overly friendly towards them, especially Kagome. I did have my reasons. They are just well hidden, and my reasons.

As I walked, my eyes trailed over to the horizon, signaling that night was fast approaching, but I was in no hurry to return to the village. I would return eventually, and I knew that by the time I got there, everyone would be sleeping. However in Kirara's case, she would pretend to sleep, only long enough to make sure I arrived unscathed. I was not exactly sure what it was about the cat demon, but she seemed to watch over me like a mother would, and sometimes it unnerved me. There were times where she would abandon her master, prance over to me, and settle in my lap. Other times, she would just glance in my direction. I couldn't tell you how many times I would wake and find a furry cat in my lap, or nuzzled under my nose. Didn't she understand, cats and dogs were not meant to get along?

I really didn't mind the cat demon, to tell you the truth, but I basically pushed everyone at arms length, protecting myself. There was only so much I could take. Then there was that perverted monk, Miroku. He treated me as a brother, one that I had through blood, but we won't get into that one. I sighed again and continued towards the village, absently thinking about my companions.

Even though I knew them, through and through, there were times where they surprised me. Sango for instance, she was strong willed, powerful in battle, and deeply hurt by the treachery of Naraku. Pretty much everyone in the group was, however, there was one, the fox kit, Shippo.

I had no idea what Sango saw in that perverted monk, nor did I care to elaborate on it any. She obviously saw something more in him than I did. Oh he was strong, determined, but his forwardness towards the female race was horrifying. It was almost degrading.

Shippo was all right sometimes, but he annoyed me to no end. I mean here was this young fox kit, who traveled with us, because he had nowhere else to go. That I didn't mind. It was him latching onto Kagome whenever an opportunity arose that bothered me to no end. I saw it, and he knew I did. He used Kagome for comfort even though he was strong enough to live with his actions. That was what bothered me the most, but whenever I stepped in to set that bloody kit straight, I always ended up being sat, or worse, on the receiving end of Kagome's anger.

Kagome was a phenomenon herself. I cared for the girl more than I should, and the others knew it. They constantly pressured me to tell her how I felt, but I refused. How could I ask this girl to give everything up for a mere hanyou such as myself? So I kept her at a distance. Not that I wanted to, but I did, for both our sakes. You could almost say that I cared about her so much I was willing to do anything for her. I loved her, with all my heart and soul, but I could never voice that out loud. I mean I would sound like a complete blubbering idiot if I did. Words were just not my strong point. Actions were what spoke volumes and I think that Kagome thought I was still hung up on my first love.

I did love Kikyou, but since her death by Naraku's hands the final time, I had been able to say good-bye and make my peace with what had happened. I had finally placed Kikyou into my memory, and stopped chasing after a long faded dream.

I furrowed my brows and stopped in my tracks. Glancing over my shoulder, I peered into the darkness curiously. It was almost as though something was following me, but I could not detect any scent. It was there though, a faint presence that hovered just beyond my reach, and I turned around completely, searching with my eyes. There was nothing there, so I shrugged and continued through the forest almost silently on my bare feet.

That feeling didn't vanish when I finally broke through the forest and over looked the glimmering lights of the village in front of me, and I turned around once again. What ever it was, it was staying hidden, for what purpose I couldn't tell you. I narrowed my eyes and actually called out into the darkness.

"What do you want?" I demanded. Of course I received no reply and I continued to stare out into the dark woods completely baffled. What do you do when you can sense something just beyond your reach, but can't pick up on a location, or a scent to bring me closer to discovering what it was? You stare out like an idiot, like you have lost your mind, talking to yourself. Once again I shrugged my shoulders and started walking towards the stupid human village.

Myself, I preferred the forest camping, we did. But my companions loved to be pampered whenever we were close to a village and always bugged me to the point where I gave in. I approached the entrance to the village and made my way through the streets until my companion's scents grew stronger. That stupid thing that was following me was still there, and I cast a glare out into the darkness. I could have sworn I saw some shadow pass just outside the candle light of one hut and I paused.

I narrowed my eyes and sniffed the air furiously, completely unnerved by this thing that I could sense, but couldn't smell. I mean it was there I knew it was. Shaking my head utterly dumbfounded, I turned around and yelped when I came face to face with, low and behold, Kagome.

"Dammit, Kagome! Don't sneak up on me like that." I snapped.

Kagome stared at me strangely. "Why are you so jumpy?" She whispered.

"Who's jumpy?" I mumbled and brushed past her. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

Kagome followed me and sighed. "I waited up for you."

I frowned. "You don't have to do that, you know. I can take care of myself."

She heaved a long sigh and shook her head. "I know that, but I wanted to wait up for you."

I had no idea how to respond to that, I mean this girl always gave away her feelings for me with her words. Trust me, I wasn't stupid, I knew how she felt and that she wanted to be with me. I wanted to be with her too, but there were too many obstacles in our path for that to be an option. "Keh." I scoffed and once again glanced over my shoulder.

"Inuyasha, you're growling." Kagome whispered also glancing behind us.

I blinked and stared at her, swallowing my snarls and snapped my mouth shut. That damned presence was still there and I curled my lip angrily. If it didn't stop following me, I would just have to hunt it down and demand an answer. However, I couldn't track it with scent, or sight. Maybe the closer I got to it would reveal the damn thing.

Kagome tapped my shoulder. "You're growling again. What's wrong?"

"Huh? Uhh, nothing. Come on, let's get back to the others." I swallowed nervously. Was this thing after my companions? Or was it tracking me? There was no way in hell it was going to get its filthy hands on any of my pack. I flexed my claws and kept my ears and nose open. Whatever it was, it was being extremely careful in its hunt. Was I being hunted? Was this another filthy detachment of Naraku?

It was starting to get on my nerves and I shoved the bamboo mat aside to the hut we were staying in. Sure enough, everyone in side was already asleep, minus Kirara who mewed in greeting and curled up closer to her master. I barred my fangs at the feline and watched Kagome walk over to her noisy sleeping blanket. Once she was settled, I propped myself up against the wall and fingered Tessaiga.

For some reason I was always comforted by the sword, and knowing it was there while this thing danced on the edges of my awareness was a great consolation. My skin grew cold several times during the night and every single time it did, I found myself snarling into the darkness like a half crazed blubbering idiot. Kagome must have heard a growl at one point in her sleep because she sat me, and I sat there picking splinters out of my face and hands for a good hour before dawn.

I plucked the last splinter out of my hand and flicked it away with my claw just as the sun shone into the hut. All night that thing was there, hovering just beyond my reach and not being able to sleep with the worry of my companions being in danger was something I really tried not to do. I was tired and now cranky. This resulted in a bad day and more than likely a lot of arguments, and sits.

I pulled myself up with Tessaiga and exited the hut. The less time I was around my companions the better. Perhaps I could go without getting into any spats or sits and I stared out at the rising sun silently. Something brushed up against my leg and I jumped a foot into the air with a loud bark of surprise. What was with everyone sneaking up on me? I glared at Kirara fiercely. "Don't do that!" I growled softly. "What do you want?" I asked her.

Her answer was to pounce up onto my shoulder and purr in contentment, rubbing her furry head under my nose. I sneezed and moved my head away.

"You're a cat, I'm a dog, you're lucky I haven't eaten you by now." I sniffed.

Kirara mewed and placed her cold wet nose onto my neck, purring even more forcefully than before.

"Will you stop that?" I glanced over at her and received a rough wet kiss to the tip of my nose and I groaned. "Bloody cat." I mumbled under my breath.

Just as I turned my head away, Kirara nipped at my chin and I whimpered. "What is your problem? Go back to Sango." I pleaded with her. It was obvious that Kirara sensed my discomfort and was trying to distract me, perhaps even trying to comfort me some, but I was only getting agitated with her signs of affection.

Her sharp little claws dug through my fire rat as she changed her position and settled under my thick mane of hair and I sighed. The purring against the back of my neck was actually relaxing and I now wished she had done that last night while I had been on edge. I could have easily have fallen asleep with the purring massages.

Shuffling from inside the hut alerted me to the others waking and moving about their morning routines. A strong wave of Kagome's scent caught my attention and I furrowed my brows curiously. It wasn't her usual scent and I grunted out a chuckle as I heard her curse rather impressively. This made my day even easier to avoid contact with them. But the scent of blood would alert youkai and other things, drawing them to us unwanted.

I knew how today would go already. Kagome would blush prettily and say she would ride on Kirara with Sango, and Shippo would of course stay close to her, not that he knew why exactly, but Shippo had a good nose and he would feel the need to be close to her and attempt to cheer her up and protect her. The girl was always rather cranky on the day of her cycle renewal. Miroku would of course sense something off and would take the tail end of the group while I took the front.

I grinned and rolled my shoulders. Perhaps this was a promising day after all. As fast as I could, I leapt onto the roof of the hut and settled myself down comfortably just as my companions made their way out into the bright sunshine. I propped my head up with my hand and stared down at them while they pondered where I had vanished to. This was always enjoyable for me, watching them fret over my sudden disappearance.

Miroku glanced around and I smirked as his head shook in disbelief. "I can't believe he would just disappear like that."

Kagome sighed and frowned. "He was here last night."

"Maybe he is out training again with Kirara." Sango suggested. "I woke up to find her missing too."

Kagome nodded and wrapped her arms around Shippo who launched himself into her arms. "That baka, Inuyasha. Always running off without telling anyone."

I bit back a snarl at that comment and contemplated on tossing the cat at him, but Kagome would probably end up getting hurt in the process. I grit my teeth together and jumped off the roof.

Everyone whirled around surprised as I landed with a soft thump behind them. I crossed my arms and scowled at them. "Let's go."

Kagome blushed just as I had predicted and glanced around for Kirara. "I think I'll just ride on Kirara today."

I snorted and grinned inwardly. "Fine, suit yourself."

Sango frowned and looked around curiously. "Where is she anyway?"

I lifted my hair, reached back with my free hand to tug the cat off my neck, and held Kirara out for them to see. Kirara mewed happily, jumped out of my hand, and transformed. I grunted before I turned leading the way out of the village as quickly as possible. The last thing I wanted was for us to be bombarded by the villagers, who were starting to move about with their own tasks for the day.

The further we got from this rather small town the better. Maybe that feeling of being followed would vanish once we reached the other end of town. Perhaps I was only feeling paranoid, but if you grow up in the manner I had, one would take paranoia like they would water. It was always like that with me, I didn't want to be on edge all the time, but it's what kept me alive. Kept me alive all these years.

Once we reached the open field outside the village, I had suspected that feeling to subside, but in all truth, it only intensified and my guard went up immediately. I was on high alert, but somehow the feeling was not as harsh as it had been during the night. I furrowed my brows confused and glanced all around us as we picked our way through the rice fields.

I sniffed the air yet again, trying to find a scent on this thing that I knew was there, but still couldn't pin point. It was really starting to grate on my nerves and I lead the way into the forest snarling softly, or at least I had thought it had been softly, until the others commented and I swallowed it, along with the comment I really wanted to retort. I heard Kagome moan a few times, most likely due to her cycle, which normally caused her a few discomforts, but I also, knew she had taken some of her herbal medicines from Kaede to help suppress the aches.

A crack to my left caused me to jump into the air, and draw Tessaiga protectively. The others stopped and blinked at me strangely and I growled into the dark recesses of the woods. I searched with my ears, and my nose but nothing presented itself to me. Not a thing. "Come out and face me!" I snapped into the trees.

Of course nothing responded and I yelped when a hand fell on my shoulder. If I hadn't been so quick, Miroku more than likely would be a head shorter. The monk quickly took a step back and held up his hands. "Why are you so on edge, Inuyasha?" He asked softly, once my glare died down.

"Keh, nothing." I sheathed Tessaiga and turned my back to him, however my gaze lingered on the darkness.

"You're making everyone nervous with your growls and jumpiness. What do you sense?" He pried.

I shook my head, furrowing my brows. "I'm not sure. Something is there, it's been following me since last night." I whispered softly enough so only he could pick it up.

Miroku nodded and glanced off into the woods. "Is it a demon?"

I shook my head. "No, it's something else. It doesn't have a demonic aura, or energy to suggest that. But it also isn't human. I know it's there, but I can't smell it, or hear it."

I glanced at Miroku and held his gaze for a moment before he spoke. "Maybe it's wise not to inform the girls of this until we discover what it is exactly."

I nodded. "That would be best." Once again I turned away and lead the group down the forest path, hopefully leading us to some news on Naraku's whereabouts. I mean, since he had killed off Kikyou, he had completely vanished once again, leaving us nothing but a cold trail to follow.

Of course, so many things had happened since then. Sango and the rest of us had discovered my brother and Kohaku traveling together, which had left us strangely baffled. We had discovered the true intention of our father in his granting us the swords he did. We had seen Kanna die, and seen Sango repair her bone weapon. Witnessed more blood shed amongst the human race, as the war grew in intensity. We had learned that Sesshomaru's mother was still alive in the world, and that Sesshomaru gained some form of training from her.

We also had discovered that Rin had died once, and had been revived by my brother with the Tenseiga. Kohaku had filled us in on all sorts of information regarding my brother that I actually wondered if it was all a lie. I knew it wasn't but to me it just seemed so unlike Sesshomaru to actually care enough for a human, much less a human girl, to revive her and feel grief and compassion when she had died a second time. Of course Sesshomaru's mother had revived Rin, and we had been informed that Tenseiga could only bring back someone from death once.

I shook my head and felt the hair on the back of my neck rise as a bone-chilling wail filled the air. I froze and whirled around quickly. "What the hell was that?"

My companions stopped and glanced at one another confused. "What was what?" Sango asked, climbing off Kirara's back and hefting her weapon.

I stared at her stupidly. "You didn't hear that?" I ground out between clenched teeth.

All my companions shook their heads.

"You have got to be kidding me." I snapped and barred my fangs. Had it all been my imagination? I frowned really agitated now. Another crack from the woods caused me to whip around and snarl into the woods. Obviously my companions didn't hear that either, judging by their unmoving bodies. If they had, they would have readied themselves for battle. "Dammit!"

I stalked off down the path angrily. This was definitely not a good day. I was either loosing my mind, or something was hunting me and toying with me. Whatever it was, I had to find out and quickly. I still had no idea what it was, or who it was after exactly, but I knew something was there. I just wish the damn thing would show itself rather than toy with me. Bloody coward.

"Come on!" I growled angrily when my companions remained rooted in place. They quickly caught up with me, and I remained silent and to myself until Miroku called a stop for lunch. Annoyed, I leaned against a tree and glared at them, crossing my arms over my chest. "We don't have time for this. Hurry up so we can go find Naraku and get the jewel back."

Kagome released an agitated sigh and I blinked nervously in her direction. She stayed silent however, much to my immense relief, but she did approach me. "Hey, Inuyasha?"

I snorted. "What?"

"Do you think tonight we can camp by a hot springs?" She asked softly. Whenever she had aches and pains due to her cycle renewal she always asked the same question. I knew that the mineral water helped with her aches and I turned my nose to the air. "If I can find something." I always managed to find a hot springs somewhere, even when I showed I could care less. It always seemed to bring Kagome just a little bit of happiness and so I ended up searching all that much harder for a spring's source.

Instant happiness flooded the air around the girl and I held my breath so I didn't have to feel relief from the strangely calming scent. I was far from calm, as that presence hadn't left us alone, and I wanted to be on high alert in case it decided to try and get a jump on us.

I was growing more and more troubled as we remained in one place and when my companions finally finished their lunch and began packing up their supplies, I pushed myself off the tree and complained. "Finally. Let's go already."

I heard the others sigh and finally get themselves together to follow me. I was several feet in front of them, before they got moving and I bit back my retort on how slow humans were at times. It wasn't them that I was unnerved with, it was that damn thing that kept dancing beyond my awareness and it was giving me a bad vibe. Why could I feel it there but the others couldn't? They also hadn't heard that chilling cry which to me had been as loud as a squalling baby.

I shook my head quickly and sniffed the air, wanting to find Kagome that hot springs so that she could be comfortable tonight, but I knew we were no where near any at the moment. Best to keep my attention on that rather than miss it due to my constant distraction of that thing.

It was several hours later when I finally detected a hot springs over the crest of the hill we were climbing. I grinned and sniffed the air. Night was fast approaching and the sense of something following us hadn't dissipated at all. Not only had it not stopped in its hunt of us, the strange aura around it picked up intensity. This only caused me to raise my hackles and remain on high guard as we finally made camp in a small clearing.

Immediately Kagome and Sango headed for the hot springs, and I held Miroku by the hem of his robes, glaring at him. Shippo of course skipped along behind the girls, ignoring my glare, and whistling like he had gained something we men hadn't. I grunted and tugged Miroku to the ground and slapped him on the back of the head.

He rubbed his head and protested. "What was that for?"

"Think of it as a good blow to your ego. It's either that or get your ass slammed by Sango again."

Miroku blushed and smirked. "So what was your problem today?" He asked seriously.

I glanced at him and dug through Kagome's pack searching for her instant food. "Nothing."

"You were on edge all day, you can't hide it, Inuyasha." He pressed.

I pulled out a bar from Kagome's bag, tore the wrapping off it, and stuffed it into my mouth. I chewed it slowly and made him wait, all the while enjoying his impatience as it rushed off him in waves. I swallowed. "I already told you what my problem was. Now it's up to you whether you believe me or not."

Miroku nodded and took an instant bar for himself. "Thing is, none of us sensed anything off today. Except Kagome, that is. But besides that, you were jumping at your own shadow."

I glared at him and grunted, searching for more food in Kagome's pack. "I was not jumping at my own shadow, idiot. I heard a scream; I'm surprised none of you did. Not only that, but I felt as though something was watching us." I pulled out another packet from the bag and glanced at it curiously. I remembered the last time I had tried to eat something I had no idea what it was and received a full day of stomach pains for my troubles. I threw it over my shoulder and went back to my search. I pulled out a small bag of her dried potatoes and grinned. Now this was something I knew I could eat and I quickly ripped open the bag.

Miroku chuckled and shook his head. His hands pulled out a few of the chips when I presented the bag for him and I dug in once he had pulled out a share for himself. I knew that eating this would make Shippo upset and so I stuffed my face with as much as I could before they got back.

"Strange thing about this presence…" I mumbled around my suddenly dry mouth, and I quickly picked up Kagome's water bottle and downed some of the liquid. "It has no scent. Not like a demon or a human does. It also doesn't have an aura like a demon. It has an aura that is detectable, but it's so faint, it's like it is just beyond my reach."

Miroku sighed and nodded, also drinking back some of the cooling water. "Where is it now?" He asked.

I lifted my head and glanced around furrowing my brows curiously. I shrugged. "It's not there now." Grinning, I settled myself back on my elbows and wrinkled my nose. I could detect Sango and Kagome's scents from the darkness, and the fact that they were enjoying their luxurious bath that they were more than likely going to take their time.

By the time the girls had returned from their baths, I had settled comfortably against a tree and actually felt at ease enough to close my eyes. With that feeling of being followed and watched being gone, I was able to let my guard down and maybe tonight I would be able to rest. It wasn't as though I needed sleep every night, but I had to rest my body and mind. Normally I would remain awake, with my eyes closed, resting as I kept guard. Something that I was unable to do on my human night. I was actually looking forward to falling into a peaceful sleep tonight.

Once everyone had settled, I found myself the object of Kirara's immediate attention and groaned out loud as she settled in my lap purring heavily. Thing grew quiet and I noticed Miroku prop himself against a tree over looking the forest, on guard and I smiled. Finally, I could rest.

My eyes snapped open what felt like only minutes later and I shuddered violently as a chilling aura enveloped me. I sat up gasping for air and held my hand to my chest. Kirara hissed and growled at being disturbed, but she jumped off my lap and stared off into the darkness hissing. I blinked and sucked my breath in sharply. The damn cat sensed this thing too? So I wasn't going completely nuts.

I stood up and stared out into the forest, carefully searching with my eyes and ears. I still couldn't pin point where this damn thing was. But it was there, I now knew I wasn't going crazy, because Kirara ruffled her fur so much she looked twice the size she had earlier. In fact she looked like one of Kagome's cotton balls back in her time. I knelt down and patted her back soothingly.

"You know something is out there, don't you." I whispered, carefully so that Miroku didn't hear me, that is if the monk was still awake.

Kirara released a sharp growl and another hiss confirming my question.

"Easy girl. You feel up to a hunt tonight to find out exactly what this thing is?"

A sudden gust of wind blew into the camp and Kirara actually shrunk back fearfully. I blinked stupidly for a minute and quickly glanced up. There was nothing there. "What is it?" I whispered, and tried to ease the cat's fright. Her claws were extended and her fur stood on end, and her fangs were barred warning whatever it was to stay back. This was so unlike Kirara that it now had me on edge. If Kirara was frightened of this thing then it was something beyond what we've ever encountered before.

I stood up and drew Tessaiga from its sheath, and stared out into the dark woods silently.


End file.
